For this month's Sugar High Friday, Taste Everything Once challenged us to look for those tempting sweet morsels that will melt a man's heart in anticipation of Valentine's Day.
Aphrodisiacs always remind me of the scene from the movie which is based on the book, Like Water for Chocolate where the heroine makes the Quail with Rose Petals that invoked so many emotions after eating it that her sister runs naked into the arms of the bandit. I so wanted to re-create that dish but sadly it's more of a savoury dish rather than a sweet one. Eventually after toying with elaborate ideas involving rose petals, raspberries and etc, I settled for the old favourite, chocolate. I know, it's super boring but then my boyfriend is extremely conservative and unadventurous when it comes to food. Seriously, this is a guy who turns up his nose to foie gras which I wanted to get for a special dinner. He does love his chocolate hence it's an extremely safe bet to make him anything with it.
I decided to try out a new collection of recipes I have from Malaysia's restaurants that have been compiled in a guide called FMBK - From Malaysia's Best Kitchens. What attracted me to this recipe was the chocolate cake has no dry ingredients inside it except one teaspoon of caster sugar. Amazing and how I wish I saw it earlier for last month's Sugar High Friday which called for low sugar desserts.
The cake is basically a very rich torte that oozes chocolate in every bite you take. Simply divine especially with fantastic creamy ice cream that will tantalise your tastebuds and start the romance vibes tingling. I have cut my cake to tiny heart size portions which you can slowly pop into your loved one's mouth to savour with the cold ice cream. My original plan was to accompany it with heart shaped frozen ice cream but the weather is just too hot to take pictures of the ice cream as they kept melting right in front of me. Instead I have placed it on top of red hot saga seeds that look like tiny hearts. These seeds are collected from trees around town. They're extremely popular in Singapore as a symbol of love. Hope you enjoy it and I'll update you later if Splashie Boy fell in love with the cake just like I did. It's been a great effort resisting it before he tries it as it's so yummy.
Dark Bitter Chocolate Cake
(from Fisherman's Cove in Starhill Gallery)
120 grams best quality dark chocolate
60 grams softened butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lightly whipped cream
1 teaspoon caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter an 18cm cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Using an electric beater, beat the whole eggs and sugar until pale and quadrupled in size. Fold in lightly whipped cream. Gently fold a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and then fold the egg mixture into the remaining chocolate until well combined. Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake begins to shrink slightly from the sides of the tin. Allow to rest for 1-2 minutes before running a knife around the edge and turning on to the rack to cool.
Note: the cake rises and will sink back. If you use an 18cm cake tin, the cake will be about one inch thick only. Use a heart shape cutter to get the heart shaped chocolate cakes. To make frozen heart shaped ice cream, place them into heart shaped rubber trays from Ikea and freeze. Unmold and serve with your heart shaped chocolate cakes and savour them.
Updated: The round-up is on Taste Everything Once's blog - check those wonderful entries.
Tagged with: SHF # 16 + Chocolate
If you can melt his heart with chocolate he's a keeper!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen saga seeds before...I'm going to have to try to find some for myself!
Thanks for taking part in this month's SHF. Look for a round up by the weekend.
that sure looks sinful and so very tempting for a single pop into the mouth.. make sure boyfriend gives you an extra big hug for all the effort :P
ReplyDeleteSo that's what they are called! Saga seeds! My grandmother had a big, glass vase full of them and as a child I was fascinated by them.
ReplyDeleteThe cake looks totally yummy. I may have to look out for that book now - wonder if they will have that in Singapore.
I simply adore non fussy recipes that work wonders.
ReplyDeleteI remember them saga seeds when I was younger. We used to collect them in the school courtyard and "lovingly" prime them with rubber bands and shoot at classmates.
jennifer - heart melted with choc! He loves it and has asked for it again for today.
ReplyDeleteCath - Thanks! He gave me a nice hug for it and he wants more.
MM - not sure if they have it in Spore. It's actually a guide book of restaurants that also has discounts and special offers plus recipes from their kitchens. I love saga seeds and they look great in a glass jar.
nicholas - naughty you! Nowadays saga seeds are so rare as not many trees left. Do try the recipe, it's very nice and simple.
Hi Boo- sugar is the only dry ingredient. Wow, you must be on a chocolate high. Looks and sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteI forgot about the book 'Like water for...'. Thanks for reminding me to read it.